Student Information
Complete the Heartland Student Application
The very first step to becoming a College NOW student is to apply to Heartland!
- It's free and only takes about 10-15 minutes if you have all the information you need!
- Await your welcome letter via the email address entered on your application.
- You do not need to apply every year as a high school student.
Start the application process at heartland.edu/collegeNow/admission/applyNOW.
Complete Placement Testing *if applicable*
Next, as you consider the HCC courses you want to take, you must pay special attention to the requirements for each course.
- You may need to complete placement testing for HCC courses offered at your high school or at HCC on-campus/online.
- You may also need to complete some courses in a particular sequence with a grade of C or better to be enrolled in the next level course.
Early College Student Expectations
- You are expected to take responsibility for your own learning.
- You should plan
for an additional 2 to 3 hours of work time per week outside of class in order to do well. - You may be asked to read, write and talk about mature and controversial topics that are not covered in high school courses.
- You will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, along with an appreciation for diversity.
- You are expected to actively work towards achieving the learning outcomes listed on the course syllabus through regular attendance, participation, and the completion of assignments and assessments.
- You are expected to get any required textbooks and materials for your Heartland courses.
- You may be expected to use online learning management systems (i.e. Canvas) to review course content and submit assignments.
- You are expected to use your myHeartland account to check for pertinent information about your enrollment status as a College NOW student.
- You are expected to follow the guidelines for Heartland students as outlined in the Student Handbook at heartland.edu/studentHandbook.
At a High School/Career Center
HCC does not charge tuition/fees when students take HCC courses offered through our early college partnership with a district 540 high school or career center at their location or online.
- Be advised that some high schools may charge students a dual credit fee upon enrollment.
On-Campus/Online through HCC
Tuition & Required Fees
Heartland Community College tuition for credit courses is based on residency in district 540 (PDF). Some courses also carry a course-specific fee. Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.
Summer/Fall 2023 tuition and required fee rates are as follows*:- In-district tuition - $166 per semester hour
*In-district home-school students receive an automatic $70 per credit hr tuition waiver within 24-48 hours of enrollment*- Out-of-district tuition - $332 per semester hour
- Out-of-state/Out-of-country tuition - $498 per semester hour
- Program Development & Facilities Enhancement Fee: $2 per semester hour
- Student Life Fee: $14 per semester hour
- Course Specific Fees: varies; noted upon course selection at heartland.edu/schedule
Standard Payment Options
Payment arrangements must be made by the tuition due date or when you are enrolled.- In person at the Normal, Pontiac or Lincoln campus using cash (Normal campus only), check, money order, or credit/debit card. No fees are charged for paying with a credit/debit card in person.
- By mail (checks only): Heartland Community College (Attn: Cashier), 1500 W. Raab Rd., Normal, IL 61761. Post-dated checks will not be accepted. Returned checks will be assessed a $30 service fee.
- By phone by calling 309-268-8140 with a credit/debit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express). No fees are charged for paying with a credit/debit card over the phone.
- Online at my.heartland.edu. Processing fees will apply to online payments and a 2.75% transaction fee will apply to credit or debit card payments.
Special Notations
- Find information about enrolling in an automatic payment plan at heartland.edu/payingforcollege/paymentsRefunds/paymentPlan.html
- Learn about our refund policy at heartland.edu/payingForCollege/paymentsRefunds/eligibility.html.
Other Potential Costs
Testing
While initial placement testing is free, there is a $5 fee for the ALEKS math re-test.
Textbooks
- Students are responsible for purchasing any required textbooks/materials for HCC courses.
- Required textbooks/materials are listed on the syllabus instructors provide for each course.
Transcripts
There is a $5 fee for all official transcript requests. (Note: Students can access/download their unofficial transcript for free through myHeartland. See the Access College Transcript section under Transfer Options below.)
- Each student receives a free myHeartland account; accessing it is essential!
Set-Up/Reset myHeartland
Follow the steps below after you have located your HCC log-in credentials in the welcome letter sent to the email address you listed on your HCC student application. (You may need to check your spam/junk filter for a message from collegenow@heartland.edu. Students with gmail accounts should also check the Promotions folder.)
- Go to my.heartland.edu
- Choose Manage My Password
- Choose Create or Reset Password
- Enter your login name
- Enter your date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY)
- Enter the last 4 digits of your SSN
- Enter your 7-digit HCC ID # (include the 0)
If you have any difficulty accessing your Heartland account, contact HCC IT staff via email helpdesk@heartland.edu or phone 309-268-8380
Can't locate your welcome letter?
- If you are taking courses through an early college partnership with a district 540 high school or career center, you can contact your high school counselor for your HCC log-in credentials.
- If you need us to resend your welcome letter, complete each prompt below as it appears:
Application Completion of the Heartland student application does not equal registration. Successful submission of the application is simply a part of the admission process that creates a Heartland student profile necessary for registration.
Once you have completed our admissions process (heartland.edu/collegeNow/admission), your HCC account allows you to take classes from both the College NOW Partner and College NOW Campus Student/Plus Pipeline pathways.
Registration Completion of the student admission process leads to registration, also referred to as course enrollment. Students must be enrolled in Heartland's student management system in order to earn college credit upon successful completion of each course. College NOW Partner Students Partner Students select HCC (tuition-free) courses offered through our partnership with a high school: heartland.edu/collegeNow/highSchools
or career center: heartland.edu/collegeNow/careerCentersCollege NOW Campus Students Campus Students select HCC (tuition-bearing) courses to take on-campus/online: heartland.edu/collegeNow/onCampus from the HCC Schedule: heartland.edu/schedule College NOW Plus Pipeline Students
Plus Pipeline Students are Campus Students who have worked with our advisor to create a plan to work toward a particular college degree or certificate while still in high school. heartland.edu/collegeNow/plus
Dual Credit
Qualified high school students earn both high school and college credit upon successful completion. Approval from your high school counselor is required in order for you to participate.
Dual Credit Approval
Talk to your high school counselor/administrator to confirm if you can also receive high school credit for the HCC campus/online courses in your recommended plan.
Dual Enrollment
Qualified high school students earn only college credit upon successful completion. Approval from your school counselor is not required for you to earn college credit for Heartland courses you enroll in on your own by working with a Heartland advisor.
Dual Credit Courses
vs
Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
Both provide opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school. The difference is:
-
Dual credit courses are college courses, appear on your college transcript as college courses, and you receive college credit upon successful completion of the course
-
Advanced Placement courses are high school courses for which you do not receive college credit unless you achieve the required score on the test at the end of the course
Four-year colleges and universities routinely accept both dual credit and advanced placement course credit, but as with any transfer credit, check with your particular school to see how your credits will apply.
-
- As a high school student, you cannot register yourself for Heartland courses.
HCC Courses @ Your High School
- To add a course offered through your high school, connect with your high school counselor.
- To drop or withdraw from a course offered through your high school, talk with your counselor about how that impacts your high school schedule and graduation requirements. Then, log into my.heartland.eduand follow these instructions:
- Select Student Center, then enter your username and password.
- Choose the Manage Classes option, then you should see Drop Classes in the left panel to continue the process.
- Click on the term header (ie Fall 2022, Spring 2023) to view your currently enrolled courses and select the appropriate course(s) for drop or withdrawal.
*Find pre-selected HCC courses offered through in-district 540 high schools and admission process details at heartland.edu/collegeNow/highSchools
*Find pre-selected HCC courses offered through area career centers and admission process details at heartland.edu/collegeNow/careerCenters
HCC Courses On-Campus/Online
College NOW Campus Students (taking HCC courses on-campus/online) go to heartland.edu/collegeNow/onCampus.
College NOW Plus Pipeline Students (on a pathway toward a particular degree or certificate) go to heartland.edu/collegeNow/plus/enrollment.
- If your course request is submitted correctly, we will complete your enrollment and send a confirmation message to your myHeartland email address.
- If you also want high school credit for Heartland on-campus/online courses, you should contact your school administrator/counselor before submitting your course request(s). You will have the opportunity on the course request form to indicate if you expect to receive dual credit and to enter the contact information for your counselor.
- To add a course offered from the Heartland campus schedule after your initial request OR change the section of a course you are enrolled in before enrollment closes, submit the course request form again.
- Email collegenow@heartland.edu to drop or withdraw from HCC courses you take on-campus/online (taught by an HCC instructor) if you are a COUNTRY Financial Scholar, State Farm Scholar, OR Homeschool student.
- If you are a traditional College NOW Campus or Plus student, you can drop or withdraw from HCC courses you take on-campus/online (taught by an HCC instructor) by logging into myHeartland and following these instructions:
- Select Student Center, then enter your username and password.
- Choose the Manage Classes option, then you should see Drop Classes in the left panel to continue the process.
- Click on the term header (ie Fall 2022, Spring 2023) to view your currently enrolled courses and select the appropriate course(s) for drop or withdrawal.
- Refund information is available at heartland.edu/payingForCollege/paymentsRefunds/refunds.
*Be mindful of the drop deadlines each semester to receive a refund.*
Teen Leadership & Service Academy
Whether you are just starting to gain leadership experience or are ready to take your skills to the next level, the Teen Leadership & Service Academy will foster your professionalism while you earn service hours around your busy summer schedule. Find out more about the Teen Leadership & Service Academy here...
Attend the free April 4th Informational Session (pdf)
On-Campus Connection Session
If you are enrolled in a spring 2023 Heartland course as a College NOW partner or campus student, members of our Early College Opportunities team on our main campus (in Normal, IL) want to meet you to:
- escort you to get your free HCC student ID card,
- give you free Heartland-College NOW items (while supplies last), and
- answer any questions you may have about being a College NOW student!
Don't delay! Schedule time with us today at https://calendly.com/hccecoteam/connect!
Log into myHeartland
Make sure you can access my.heartland.edu to check your HCC email account for important updates, easily access student support services, schedule placement testing appointments (if necessary), confirm your enrollment status, and access class information! (See the myHeartland Access section above if you need help.)
Once logged in you can choose:
- My Mail to review the messages we send to your myHeartland email account.
- Student Center to view your HCC course enrollment/schedule & tuition bill (if applicable).
- My Classes to access detailed information posted by your instructor(s), especially if your course is being taught online by an HCC instructor.
Locate Courses in Canvas
If applicable, you can access detailed course information by logging directly into our learning management system (LMS), which is Canvas, at canvas.heartland.edu.
- Canvas is used for all HCC courses offered on-campus/online and taught by HCC instructors. The course typically becomes available to students five days before the start of each semester
- Some HCC courses taught by high school instructors at high school locations also use Canvas, but some do not. Check the HCC syllabus your instructor provides for details.
- Take the time to review the Canvas 100 Orientation & Support before your class(es) start if your course is online or if your instructor chooses to use Canvas for course content.
Get an HCC Student ID Card
Once you are enrolled, you should get an HCC student ID card to receive special discounts provided to college students and to access student spaces on HCC's main campus. You can find more information here: heartland.edu/library/services/studentID- Or, schedule to connect with the Early College Opportunities team on our main campus (Normal, IL) to get your free ID card (you must be enrolled in a class in order to get your ID card), Heartland-College NOW items (while supplies last), and answers to questions you have about being a College NOW student: calendly.com/hccecoteam/connect
Review Support Services
- Work with our tutoring services center for help with your HCC and/or high school classes at heartland.edu/tutoring. You could also connect with a tutor online!
Just drop into our Virtual Help Lab via zoom: heartland.zoom.us/j/95789449081
- Connect with student access and accommodation services (SAAS) for your documented accommodation requests, such as an individualized education plan (IEP): heartland.edu/accommodations
- Engage with Success Coaching to help you get on track at heartland.edu/success.
- Discover how you can start a pathway towards a particular college certificate or degree through College NOW Plus Pipeline at heartland.edu/collegeNOW/plus.
Continue At HCC
Completing HCC courses through College NOW means you are already on an accelerated path to earning a college degree or certificate! Why not continue your collegiate experience as a Heartland Hawk before transferring to another college or entering the workforce full time?!
- Your College NOW student profile will be discontinued after your high school graduation date - but don't worry!
- Simply resubmit the Heartland application, but this time as a returning student; you'll keep the same HCC log-in credentials and email address: heartland.edu/application
Transfer Elsewhere
Heartland courses completed through College NOW also transfer to other colleges/universities:
- We are a part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative, which means our general education courses are widely accepted across many Illinois colleges/universities. You can find out more information about that at itransfer.org/aboutiai
- HCC career-technical education and elective courses may transfer to other colleges/universities in a variety of ways.
- Since transfer information per school can frequently change and could also depend on your major, contacting the registrar at the colleges or universities you are considering is the most reliable way to confirm how the HCC courses you've taken will transfer. However, you may also find the following links to be useful for your transfer efforts:
Access College Transcripts
The grade you earn will be recorded on your unofficial and official HCC transcript.
- You can download/print a copy of your unofficial transcript at any time by logging into your Heartland student account (my.heartland.edu) and following this path:
- Student Center » Academic Records » View Unofficial Transcript
- If you intend to transfer your Heartland credits to another college/university, you can request your official transcript after your last HCC course at heartland.edu/records/requestTranscripts.
- It is important to note that official college transcripts are used to determine your eligibility for financial aid. So, if you will continue your education after high school graduation and plan to seek financial aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress. The three main areas are outlined in Heartland’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
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